A low dropout regulator (LDO) is a DC linear voltage regulator comprising a power MOSFET transistor for regulating the voltage supplied to a load, for example in a portable device. An LDO has a very small drop-out, or voltage differential, between the supply voltage node and the regulated output node. The larger the dropout, the higher the power supply voltage must be. In small portable electronic devices, where power is at a premium, it is desirable that the dropout be as small as possible. However, to achieve a small drop-out, a power transistor having a large area is usually required. Integrated circuit space, though, is also at a premium; therefore, increasing the size of the power transistor is not a generally feasible solution. An improvement in drop-out by increasing the power transistor size can potentially lead to a higher quiescent current, which is not desirable in portable products and limits the efficiency of the LDO. Improving the dropout by increasing the power transistor size also provides an increased current leakage when no load is present but if it is attempted to reduce the current leakages, the drop-out performance deteriorates.